Making Waves in Sustainability

Lydia Swallow is a new addition to the Waterfront Life team. As a geography graduate, she wished to explore ABP’s social and environmental engagement in Ipswich.

ABP prides itself on the sustainable approach and commitment it is making to the environment. This month ABP, as a national company, has been nominated for two Humber Renewables Awards. It has also announced its wish to become one of the UK’s biggest corporate solar power producers and has embarked on a project to install 23,000m² of solar panels on multiple warehouses at Immingham, Britain’s largest port by tonnage.

Closer to home, ABP is also making waves in its path towards a greener future. Last month a thorough clean-up of St. Peter’s Dock (adjacent to Stoke Bridge) was conducted by ABP colleagues. During this operation many harmful plastics were recovered, including 48 road cones alongside an assortment of other debris. Items recovered so far have been recycled where possible. The community is left not only with a significantly cleaner Waterfront, but a clear conscience knowing Ipswich businesses are doing their part to make Ipswich as sustainable as possible.

A welcome new addition to the waterfront this month has come in the form of a Seabin. For those who are unaware (as I was before researching this article), a Seabin is a floating rubbish bin located under the surface of the water. The Seabin bobs up and down with the tide collecting all floating waste. How does the Seabin gather this rubbish? It sucks in water from the marina surface and this passes through a ‘catch bag’ inside the device. The Seabin’s submersible water pump then sends the water back into the marina whilst the litter and debris collected remains trapped in the catch bag. The catch bag has the capacity to collect up to 20kg of debris and is able to catch ½ ton of debris each year.

The Seabin can collect a multitude of rubbish including food wrappers, cigarette butts and plastic particles. In the future the Seabin could also collect a certain amount of oil within the marina, thanks to oil absorption technology being adapted for the catch bag. This could dramatically transform the Ipswich marina into a far cleaner, environmentally safer area.

ABP is already making significant steps in this direction and has led by example that businesses should act upon their social and environmental responsibility. Hopefully, others will follow in ABP’s footsteps as they lead the way towards making Ipswich into an eco-friendly place to live.